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Molecular Developmental Biology Lab
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The lab investigates the development and function of the central nervous system, using the retina as a model, from genes to whole organisms.
AboutAbout the lab
Aiming to understand everything from genes to whole-body physiology and human disease
The Molecular Developmental Biology Lab studies how the vertebrate central nervous system is built, focusing on the mechanisms of its development.
Mainly using the retinal visual system as a model, the lab investigates the path by which genetic programs encoded in the genome generate neurons, shape neural circuits, and lead to the function of nerves in the body.
The lab also tackles medical questions of how abnormalities at each level, from genes to physiological function, lead to human disease and how they can be resolved.
Graduate students can join through the Graduate School of Science (Department of Biological Sciences), the Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, or the Graduate School of Medicine.
Key terms
- Photoreceptor cell
- A sensory neuron in the retina that receives light. It works as a light sensor
- Cilium
- A cellular antenna made of microtubules that grows on cells such as photoreceptor cells. It is involved in transporting light-capturing molecules
- MicroRNA
- A small RNA about 18 to 25 nucleotides long. It suppresses the expression of its target genes
NewsLab news
A paper by a graduate student was published in Journal of Neuroscience
A paper by a project researcher was published in Journal of Neuroscience
A paper by a Project Assistant Professor was published in Neuroscience
A graduate student received the Outstanding Presentation Award at the Kinki Branch Meeting of the Japanese Biochemical Society
A paper by a graduate student was published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to elucidate how the central nervous system is built and comes to function, all the way from the level of genes to the level of the whole organism. Mainly using the retinal visual system as a model, it uses methods such as molecular biology, generation of genetically modified mice by genome editing, histology, and electrophysiology.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms of selective synapse formation
How specific neurons choose each other and form synapses is still poorly understood. Using the extracellular matrix protein pikachurin as a clue, the lab studies how connections between photoreceptor cells and bipolar cells are formed.
*Illustrative imageTranscription factors that determine neuronal differentiation
The lab studies, from the viewpoint of transcriptional regulation, how the fate of photoreceptor cells is determined and how they differentiate from progenitor cells. It has found that the transcription factor Otx2 determines photoreceptor fate, and that Crx governs differentiation and maturation.
*Illustrative imageRegulation of the nervous system by microRNAs
The lab has shown that miR-124a, a microRNA specifically expressed in the central nervous system, is essential for the formation of normal neural circuits in the hippocampus and for the survival of cone cells in the retina. Through the in vivo functions and mechanisms of action of microRNAs, it explores new mechanisms of gene regulation in the central nervous system.
*Illustrative imageCilia formation and their roles in neurons
The cilia that grow from photoreceptor cells are structures that play an important role in transporting opsin, a light-capturing molecule, and their disruption is known to cause retinitis pigmentosa. Using knockout mice and other tools, the lab studies how cilia function and how cilia-related diseases arise.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members are faculty, project researchers, collaborating researchers, graduate students, undergraduates, research assistants, and secretaries.As of 2026
- ProfessorTakahisa Furukawa
- Associate ProfessorTaro Chaya
- Assistant ProfessorHung-Ya Tu
- Project LecturerYuko Sugita
- Project Assistant ProfessorKazu Maeda
- Project Assistant ProfessorYasuaki Kobayashi
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Confocal Microscope” Mark from Edinburgh, United Kingdom / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms of selective synapse formation: “Sinapsia” Itzulpena eta moldaketa User:Theklan / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Transcription factors that determine neuronal differentiation: “Rrods and cones of the primate retina” Helga Kolb / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Regulation of the nervous system by microRNAs: “Hippocampus - DK ATLAS” RAZVAN V. MARINESCU / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Cilia formation and their roles in neurons: “ConeMosaics” Mark Fairchild / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Chromosome Structure and Function Lab): “Human karyotype (248 27) Human karyotype” Doc. RNDr. Josef Reischig, CSc. / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Comparative Neurobiology Lab): “Riptortus pedestris” Phonon.b / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Genome-Chromosome Function Lab): “Independent assortment” Christinelmiller / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Interdisciplinary Group (Developmental Biology) Lab): “Fluorescence microscopy of stage 24 squid embryo with ZEISS Celldiscoverer )” ZEISS Microscopy from Germany / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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